Apparatus and method by which user device in home network system transmits home-device-related information

ABSTRACT

An apparatus and method by which a user device in a home network system transmits home-device-related information is provided. The method includes acquiring, from at least one home device, a unique user identifier (UUID) for a related home device, a peer ID (peer ID) which is managed by a connectivity server for managing a connection between the user device and the related home device and that identifies the related home device, a peer group ID for identifying a group of home devices that have registered with a service server for managing device information on the related home device, and a device token containing key information for authenticating the connection to the related home device, selecting a specific user device which will share the UUID, peerID, peer group ID and device token from among neighboring devices, and transferring the UUID, peerID, peer group ID, and device token to the specific user device on the basis of a predetermined sharing method.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation application of prior application Ser.No. 15/024,282, filed on Mar. 24, 2016, which was the National Stageunder 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Application numberPCT/KR2014/008780, filed on Sep. 22, 2014, which claimed priority 35U.S.C § 119(a) of a Korean Patent Application number 10-2014-0074051,filed on Jun. 18, 2014, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office andwhich claimed priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of a U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 61/881,114, filed on Sep. 23, 2013, the disclosureeach of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to an apparatus and a method fortransferring home device-related information in a home network system bya user device.

BACKGROUND

A home network system refers to a system that connects home devices thatare installed in a house through a wired or wireless network so as tocontrol the home devices. A developed home network system combines homedevices through a home gateway (HGW) to connect the home devices to anexternal public data network, for example, an Internet protocol (IP)network (that is, Internet), thereby providing more various servicesthat are linked to the Internet. The home network system may provide aservice which a user desires, by controlling the home devices accordingto a user's demand.

In such systems, user devices are required to perform a process ofregistering each of the home devices to control the home devices in thehome network system. However, all of the user devices have toindividually register each of the home devices in the general homenetwork system, which deteriorates usability. Further, as the number ofuser devices and the number of home devices to be registered increases,operations required for performing the registration process alsoincrease, and thus it takes an excessively long time to perform theregistration process.

Accordingly, efforts are needed to more efficiently improve theregistration process between the user device and the home devices.

The above information is presented as background information only, andto assist with an understanding of the present disclosure. Nodetermination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether anyof the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the presentdisclosure.

SUMMARY

Aspects of the present disclosure are provided to address at least theabove-mentioned problems and/or disadvantages, and to provide at leastthe advantages described below. Accordingly, an aspect of the presentdisclosure is to provide a method and an apparatus for transferring homedevice-related information by a user device in a home network system.

Another aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a method and anapparatus for sharing home device-related information with a neighboringuser device by a user device in a home network system.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, a method oftransmitting information related to a home device in a home networksystem by a user device is provided. The method includes acquiring, fromat least one home device, a unique user identifier (UUID) of the relatedhome device, a peer ID (peerID) for identifying the related home device,the peerID being managed by a connectivity server managing a connectionbetween the user device and the related home device, a peer group ID(peerGroupID) for identifying a group that includes home devicesregistered in a service server managing device information on therelated home device, and a device token containing information on a keyfor authenticating access to the related home device, and transmittingthe UUID, peerID, peerGroupID, and device token to a neighboring deviceof the user device.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a method ofmanaging information related to a home device in a home network systemby a service server is provided. The method includes receiving, from auser device, at least one of a UUID of a related home device, a peerIDfor identifying the related home device, the peerID being managed by aconnectivity server managing a connection between the user device andthe related home device, a peerGroupID for identifying a group thatincludes home devices registered in a service server managing deviceinformation on the related home device, and a device token containinginformation on a key for authenticating access to the related homedevice, and copying registered home device information on the userdevice such that home device information on a neighboring device of theuser device becomes identical to the registered home device informationon the user device.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a userdevice for transmitting information related to a home device in a homenetwork system is provided. The user device includes a controller thatacquires a UUID of a related home device, a peerID for identifying therelated home device, the peerID being managed by a connectivity servermanaging a connection between the user device and the related homedevice, a peerGroupID for identifying a group that includes home devicesregistered in a service server managing device information on therelated home device, and a device token containing information on a keyfor authenticating access to the related home device, from at least onehome device, and a transmitter that transmits the UUID, peerID,peerGroupID, and device token to a neighboring device of the userdevice.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a serviceserver for managing home device-related information in a home networksystem is provided. The service server includes a receiver that receivesat least one of a UUID of a related home device, a peerID foridentifying the related home device, the peerID being managed by aconnectivity server managing a connection between the user device andthe related home device, a peerGroupID for identifying a group thatincludes home devices registered in a service server managing deviceinformation on the related home device, and a device token containinginformation on a key for authenticating access to the related homedevice, from at least one home device, and a controller that copiesregistered home device information on the user device such that homedevice information on a neighboring device of the user device becomesidentical to the registered home device information on the user device.

According to the present disclosure, when a plurality of user devicesbelonging to respective family members exist in a house in a homenetwork system, the user devices share information on a home device, sothat an inconvenient registration process of home devices through all ofthe user devices can be mitigated.

Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the disclosure willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings,discloses various embodiments of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certainembodiments of the present disclosure will be more apparent from thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a process of registering a home devicein a server in a home network system according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of sharing home device information betweenuser devices in a home network system according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a process in which a user device thatshares home device information with a neighboring user device in a homenetwork system registers a relevant home device in a connectivity serveraccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a pre-process performed to share homedevice information between user devices in a home network systemaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a process in which a user devicedirectly transfers use right information to a neighboring user device ina home network system according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a process in which a user devicetransfers home device information of use right information to aneighboring user device via a service server and directly transfersremaining access right information to the neighboring user device in ahome network system according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a process in which a user devicetransfers use right information to a neighboring user device through aservice server in a home network system according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of sharing home device information betweenuser devices in a home network system according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a process of automatically registeringa home device in a user device in a home network system according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a device block diagram illustrating an internal configurationof a user device which shares home device information in a home networksystem according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a device block diagram illustrating an internal configurationof a service server which shares home device information in a homenetwork system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 12 is a device block diagram illustrating an internal configurationof a connectivity server which shares home device information in a homenetwork system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Throughout the drawings, it should be noted that like reference numeralsare used to depict the same or similar elements, features, andstructures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings isprovided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of variousembodiments of the present disclosure as defined by the claims and theirequivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in thatunderstanding, but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary.Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize thatvarious changes and modifications of the various embodiments describedherein can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of thepresent disclosure. In addition, descriptions of well-known functionsand constructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness.

The terms and words used in the following description and claims are notlimited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by theinventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the presentdisclosure. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in theart that the following description of various embodiments of the presentdisclosure is provided for illustration purpose only, and not for thepurpose of limiting the present disclosure as defined by the appendedclaims and their equivalents.

It is to be understood that the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the”,include plural referents unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.Thus, for example, reference to “a component surface” includes referenceto one or more of such surfaces.

Prior to the detailed description of the present disclosure below, itmay be effective to configure definitions of specific words and phrasesused in this patent document. The terms “include”, “comprise”, andderivatives thereof may mean inclusion without limitation, the term “or”may have an inclusive meaning and means “and/or”, the phrases“associated with”, “associated therewith”, and derivatives thereof maymean “to include”, “be included within”, “interconnect with”, “contain”,“be contained within”, “connected to or with”, “coupled to or with”, “becommunicable with”, “cooperate with”, “interleave”, “juxtapose”, “beproximate to”, “be bound to or with”, “have”, and “have a property of”,the term “controller” may mean any device, system, or a part thereofthat controls at least one operation, and such a device may beimplemented in hardware, firmware, software, or some combinationsthereof. It should be noted that the functionality associated with anyparticular controller may be centralized or distributed, whether locallyor remotely. The definitions of the particular words and phrases areprovided and used throughout this patent document. Those skilled in theart should understand that the above definitions can be applied to thefurther use of the defined words and phrases as well as to the priorart.

Although the terms including an ordinal number such as first, second,etc. can be used for describing various elements, the structuralelements are not restricted by the terms. The terms are used merely forthe purpose to distinguish an element from the other elements. Forexample, a first element could be termed a second element, andsimilarly, a second element could be also termed a first element withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure. As used herein, theterm “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or moreassociated items.

In the present disclosure, the terms such as “include” and/or “have” maybe construed to denote a certain characteristic, number, operation,constituent element, component or a combination thereof, but may not beconstrued to exclude the existence of or a possibility of addition ofone or more other characteristics, numbers, operations, constituentelements, components or combinations thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical andscientific terms, have the same meaning as those commonly understood bya person of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosurepertains. Such terms as those defined in a generally used dictionary areto be interpreted to have the meanings equal to the contextual meaningsin the relevant field of art, and are not to be interpreted to haveideal or excessively formal meanings unless clearly defined in thepresent specification.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, anelectronic device may include a communication functionality. Theterminal may, for example, be a smart phone, tablet personal computer(PC), mobile phone, video phone, e-book reader, desktop PC, laptop PC,netbook PC, personal digital assistant (PDA), portable multimedia player(PMP), Moving Picture Experts Group phase 1 or phase 2 (MPEG-1 orMPEG-2) audio layer 3 (MP3) player, mobile medical device, camera, orwearable device (e.g., head-mounted device (HMD), electronic clothes,electronic bracelet, electronic necklace, electronic appcessory,electronic tattoo, or smart watch).

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, theelectronic device may be a smart home appliance with a communicationfunctionality. The smart home appliance may, for example, be atelevision (TV), digital versatile disc (DVD) player, audio player,refrigerator, air conditioner, vacuum cleaner, oven, microwave, washer,dryer, air purifier, set-top box, TV box (e.g., Samsung HomeSync™, AppleTV™, or Google TV™), gaming console, electronic dictionary, camcorder,or electronic photo frame.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminalmay be a medical appliance (e.g., magnetic resonance angiography (MRA)device, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) device, computed tomography(CT) device, and ultrasonic device), navigation device, globalpositioning system (GPS) receiver, event data recorder (EDR), flightdata recorder (FDR), automotive infotainment device, marine electronicdevice (e.g., ship navigation device and gyrocompass), avionics,security equipment, or an industrial or home robot.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, theelectronic device may be a part of furniture or a building/structure, anelectronic board, electronic signature receiving device, projector, andvarious kinds of measuring instruments (e.g., water meter, electricmeter, gas meter, and electromagnetic wave meter), each of which has acommunication functionality.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, theelectronic device may be a combination of the above-mentioned devices.Further, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that theterminal according to various embodiments of the present disclosure isnot limited to the above-mentioned devices.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, a userterminal may be, for example, an electronic device.

An embodiment of the present disclosure will describe a method ofregistering a home device in a user terminal through servers forproviding services linked between the inside and outside of the house,for example, a service server, an account server, and a connectivityserver among the service server and the account server, a push server,and firmware management server, and a method of transmitting andreceiving a service signal by a user terminal and a home device througha link between the service server, account server, and connectivityserver.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a process of registering a home devicein a server in a home network system according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

Prior to the description of FIG. 1, it is assumed that controlleddevices are installed in a home or outside the home, for example, homedevices that have been already connected to a controller device, forexample, a user device. That is, a newly purchased home device passesthrough a pre-process of establishing a connection with the user devicein an initial installation and, at this time, the user device acquiresand stores device information on the newly purchased home device, peergroup identifier (ID) (peerGroupID), and a country code (countryCode).The device information on the home device includes, for example, aunique user ID (UUID) corresponding to a unique ID of the home device,type, name, description, manufacturer, model ID, serial number(serialNumber), sales location (salesLocation), version (versions), andthe like. The peerGroupID indicates a group of home devices registeredin a service server through a particular user account, and thecountryCode indicates a country in which a user of a controller deviceis located.

Referring to FIG. 1, a home network system includes a home device 101, auser device 103, a connectivity server 105, an account server 107, and aservice server 109.

The user device 103 refers to a device used for identifying a state ofthe home device 101 or controlling the home device 101 by the user andmay be, for example, a mobile terminal, such as a TV, smart phone, orthe like. The user device 103 can store and manage at least some homedevice information.

The home device 101 refers to a device which is located in a house oroutside the house and can be controlled through the user device 103, andincludes smart appliances, security devices, lighting devices, energydevices, and the like. For example, the smart appliance may be a TV, airconditioner, refrigerator, washing machine, robot cleaner, humidifier,and the like, the security device may be a door lock, security camera,closed circuit TV (CCTV), security sensor, and the like, the lightingdevice may be a light emitting diode (LED), lamp, and the like, and theenergy device may be a heating device, power measurement unit, powersocket, electric outlet, multi-tap, and the like. Additionally, the homedevice 101 may include a PC, Internet protocol (IP) camera, Internetphone, wired/wireless phone, electrically controlled curtain, blind, andthe like.

The connectivity server 105 refers to a server that provides a servicefor configuring a communication channel between the home device 101 andthe user device 103. Further, the connectivity server 105 providespresence information indicating whether the connection between the homedevice 101 and the user device 103 is possible and a network addresstranslation-traversal (NAT-T) function that makes the mutual connectionpossible by penetrating a firewall, even by a remote control.

The account server 107 refers to a server that manages an account of auser of the user device 103. Further, the account server 107 provides afunction that allows the user device 103 to access the service server109 and the connectivity server 105 by using user login information whenthe user logs into the account server 107.

The connectivity server 105 and the account server 107 are publicservers, which can be used in another service as well as the serviceprovided in the home network system. In contrast, the service server 109is a server that is operated only for the service provided in the homenetwork system and provides a function that stores and manages homedevice information for reading information on the home device 101 andall pieces of information for controlling the home device 101.

The user may access the service server 109 through an application, forexample, a smart home app executed in the user device 103 to registerhome device information or read or delete pre-registered home deviceinformation, or to register control information for collectivelycontrolling the home devices or to read or delete pre-registered controlinformation. Hereinafter, a process of registering the information onthe home device 101 through the user device 103 by the user will bedescribed in more detail. FIG. 1 describes a process of registering onehome device 101 as an example, but the process described in FIG. 1 maybe equally applied to a process of registering each of all home devices,which can be installed in the house or outside the house, in the serviceserver 109.

The user device 103 executes a smart home app according to a user input,performs pairing with the home device 101 at the same time when thesmart home app is executed, and establishes a connection between theuser device 103 and the home device 101 in operation 112.

Further, the user device 103 receives an authentication code issued fromthe account server 107 in operation 114, and transmits theauthentication code and an account ID of the user device 103 to the homedevice 101 in operation 116. The account ID refers to an identifier ofthe user device 103 allocated by the account server 107, theauthentication code refers to a key value used for receiving an accesstoken from the account server 107 by the user device 101, and the accesstoken refers to a key value used for authenticating a use right of thehome device 101 by the connectivity server 105 when the home device 101accesses the connectivity server 105.

The home device 101 receives the access token from the account server107 in operation 118, and the user device 103 registers the home device101 in the service server 109 in operation 120. Particularly,information on the home device 101 acquired through a pre-process isregistered in operation 120.

Thereafter, the home device 101 logs into the connectivity server 105 byusing the authentication code and the account ID received from the userdevice 103 and the access token received from the account server 107 inoperation 122. Some of operations 112 to 122 described in FIG. 1 may beomitted, modified and/or combined according to a utilization example.

As described above, the process of registering the home device 101 inthe server is performed through aforementioned processes 112 to 122.However, when there are a plurality of user devices in the home networksystem, all of the plurality of user devices should perform theregistration process of each of operations 112 to 122, whichinconveniences the users. Accordingly, in an embodiment of the presentdisclosure described below, a method of sharing registered informationon the home device between terminals when there are a plurality of userdevices in the home network system will be described.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of sharing home device information betweenuser devices in a home network system according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 2, an illustrated home network system includes a homedevice 201A, a home device 201B, a first user device 203, a second userdevice 205, a service server 207, an account server 209, and aconnectivity server 211. It is assumed that the first user device 203has already been connected to the home device 201A through a pre-processin operation 212, and home device information 214 on the home device201A has been registered in the service server 207 through theregistration process of operations 112 to 122 of FIG. 1.

The first user device 203 discovers user devices located in an area ofthe home network system, for example, in a house, office or similararea, collects information on the discovered user devices, and displaysthe information on a screen. Among the user devices, a user device toshare the home device information 214 registered in the first userdevice 203 is selected according to a user input. Here, it is assumedthat the user device selected by the user input is the illustratedsecond user device 205.

The first user device 203 transfers the home device information 214 andinformation on a right to access the home device 201A to the selectedsecond user device 205 in operation 216. Here, the home deviceinformation 214 includes at least one of a UUID, peer ID (peerID), andpeerGroupID, and the information on the right to access the connectivityserver 211 includes a device token. The UUID refers to a unique ID ofthe home device 201A, and the peerID refers to an ID allocated by theservice server 207 to allow the connectivity server 211 to identify thehome device 201A. The peerGroupID indicates a group that includes homedevices registered in the service server 207 through a particular useraccount, and the device token is issued to the first user device 203 bythe home device 201A and indicates key information for authenticatingaccess of the first user device 203 to the home device. In an embodimentof the present disclosure described below, information generated bycombining the home device information and the information on the rightto access the relevant home device is referred to as use rightinformation and, accordingly, the use right information includes, forexample, a UUID, peerID, peerGroupID, and device token.

The second user device 205 configures a connection with the home device201B and registers, in the connectivity server 211, the home device 201Ain the connectivity server 211 by using the use right information, thatis, the home device information 214 and the information on the right toaccess the home device 201A, received from the first user device 203 inoperation 218. The home device 201B registers the home device 201A inthe connectivity server 211 in operation 220. Hereinafter, a process ofregistering the home device 201A in the connectivity server 211 will bedescribed in more detail in FIG. 3.

Some of operations 212 to 220 described in FIG. 2 may be omitted,modified and/or combined according to a utilization example.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a process in which a user devicesharing home device information with a neighboring user device in a homenetwork system registers a relevant home device in a connectivity serveraccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 3, a home network system includes a home device 301, auser device 303, an account server 305, and a connectivity server 307.It is assumed that the user device 303 shares information on a right touse the home device 301, for example, a UUID, peerID, peerGroupID, anddevice token, with a neighboring user device through operation 216 ofFIG. 2. That is, the user device 303 stores and manages the UUID,peerID, peerGroupID, and device token of the home device 301.

The user device 303 receives an authentication code issued by theaccount server 305 in operation 312, and transmits an account serverregistration request message, which makes a request for registration inthe account server 305 to the home device 301 in operation 314. Theauthentication code refers to a key value used for receiving an accesstoken from the account server 305 by the home device 301, and the accesstoken refers to a key value used for authenticating a use right of thehome device 301 by the connectivity server 307 when the home device 301accesses the connectivity server 307. Further, the account serverregistration request message includes the authentication code receivedfrom the account server 305, and the UUID and the device token, storedand managed by the user device 303.

The home device 301 also receives the access token from the accountserver 305 in operation 316, and then receives a connectivity serverregistration request message, which makes a request for registration inthe connectivity server 307, from the user device 303 in operation 318.The connectivity server registration request message includes the peerIDand the peerGroupID, stored and managed by the user device 303.

When the key value of the device token received in operation 314 is thesame as the key value of the device token issued by the home device 301,the home device 301 is registered in the connectivity server 307 byusing the access token received from the account server 305 and thepeerGroupID received from the user device 303 in operation 320.

Some of operations 312 to 320 described in FIG. 3 may be omitted,modified and/or combined according to a utilization example.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a pre-process performed to share homedevice information between user devices in a home network systemaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 4, an illustrated home network system includes a firstuser device 401, a second user device 403, a home device 405, and aservice server 407. The first user device 401 can store and manage atleast some use right information.

The first user device 401 receives a home device list, in whichinformation on all home devices installed in the house or outside thehouse is recorded, from the service server 407 in operation 412, andidentifies detailed information on a relevant home device, for example,the home device 405 from the home device list in operation 414.

The first user device 401 discovers neighboring user devices inoperation 416, and selects a user device, for example, the second userdevice 403 to share home device information among the discovered devicesin operation 418. Here, the neighboring user devices may be all userdevices located in the house.

The first user device 401 configures a session and performs anauthentication process with the second user device 403 in operation 420,and then selects information on at least one home device to be sharedwith the second user device 403, that is, at least one home device listfrom the information on the home devices stored and managed by the firstuser device 401 in operation 422.

Although not illustrated, the first user device 401 transfersinformation on a right to use the home device included in the homedevice list selected in operation 422 to the second user device 403 andshares information on the relevant home device with the second userdevice 403. Here, a method of transferring the use right information tothe second user device 403 may be divided into a first method by whichthe first user device 401 directly transfers the use right informationto the second use device 403, a second method by which the first userdevice 401 transfers the home device information of the use rightinformation to the second user device 403 via the service server 407 anddirectly transfers the remaining access right information to the seconduser device 403, and a third method by which the first user device 401transfers the use right information to the second user device 403through the service server 407.

Some of operations 412 to 420 described in FIG. 4 may be omitted,modified and/or combined according to a utilization example.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure described below, the firstmethod, second method and third method of transferring the use rightinformation to the second user device 403 will be described in moredetail in FIGS. 5 to 7.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a process in which a user devicedirectly transfers use right information to a neighboring user device ina home network system according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

Referring to FIG. 5, an illustrated home network system includes a firstuser device 501, a second user device 503, a home device 505, and aservice server 507. Here, it is assumed that the first user device 501and the second user device 503 have completed the pre-process performedto share the home device information described in FIG. 4. The first userdevice 501 can store and manage at least some use right information ofthe home device 505, and second user device 503 can store and managehome device list.

The first user device 501 transmits a home device information sharingacceptance request message, which makes a request for accepting homedevice information sharing to the second user device 503 selected sharethe home device information in operation 512. The second user device 503transmits a home device information sharing approval message, whichapproves of the home device information sharing, to the first userdevice 501 in response to the home device information sharing acceptancerequest message in operation 514. The home device information sharingacceptance request message includes home device information on at leastone home device, that is, a UUID, peerID, IP address, device tokencorresponding to information on a right to access at least one homedevice, and peerGroupID. Here, it is assumed that at least one homedevice is, for example, a refrigerator, washing machine, cleaner, or TV.

Thereafter, the first user device 501 transmits a home deviceinformation sharing request message, which makes a request for sharinghome device information to the service server 507 in operation 516. Theservice server 507 copies the home device information such that the homedevice information on the second user device 503 becomes the same as theregistered home device information on the first user device 501 inoperation 518. The home device information sharing request messageincludes an account ID, UUID, and peerGroupID of the second user device503.

Some of operations 512 to 518 described in FIG. 5 may be omitted,modified and/or combined according to a utilization example.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a process in which a user devicetransfers home device information of use right information to aneighboring user device via a service server and directly transfersremaining access right information to the neighboring user device in ahome network system according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

Referring to FIG. 6, an illustrated home network system includes a firstuser device 601, a second user device 603, a home device 605, and aservice server 607. Here, it is assumed that the first user device 601and the second user device 603 have completed the pre-process performedto share the home device information described in FIG. 4. The seconduser device 603 can store and manage a home device list.

The first user device 601 transmits a home device information sharingrequest message, which makes a request for sharing information on thehome device, to the service server 607 in operation 612. The home deviceinformation sharing request message includes a UUID, peerID, andpeerGroupID corresponding to the home device information of theinformation on the right to use at least one home device, and an accountID and request ID of the second user device 603. The request IDindicates a trust key value used for a mutual authentication between thefirst user device 601 and the second user device 603. Further, the firstuser device 601 transmits a home device information sharing acceptancerequest message, which makes a request for accepting home deviceinformation sharing, to the second user device 603 in operation 614. Thehome device information sharing acceptance request message includes therequest ID transmitted to the service server 607.

The second user device 603 transmits a home device information sharingacceptance request message to the service server 607 in operation 616,and the home device information sharing acceptance request messageincludes the account ID of the second user device 603 and the request IDreceived from the first user device 601.

The service server 607 inspects a request ID validation by comparing therequest ID received from the second user device 603 and the request IDreceived from the first user device 601. When the request ID receivedfrom the second user device 603 is the same as the request ID receivedfrom the first user device 601, the service server 607 transmits a homedevice information sharing acceptance response message to the seconduser device 603 in response to the home device information sharingacceptance request message, which has been received in operation 616, inoperation 618. The home device information sharing acceptance responsemessage includes home device information on at least one home device,that is, a UUID, peerID, peerGroupID, and IP address.

Thereafter, the service server 607 copies the home device informationsuch that the home device information on the second user device 603becomes the same as the registered home device information on the firstuser device 601 in operation 620.

The second user device 603 transmits a home device information sharingapproval message, which approves of the home device information sharing,to the first user device 601 in response to the home device informationsharing acceptance request message, which has been received in operation614, in operation 622. The first user device 601 having received theinformation sharing approval message, transmits access right informationof the use right information, that is, the device token to the seconduser device 603 in operation 624.

Some of operations 612 to 624 described in FIG. 6 may be omitted,modified and/or combined according to a utilization example.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a process in which a user devicetransfers use right information to a neighboring user device through aservice server in a home network system according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 7, an illustrated home network system includes a firstuser device 701, a second user device 703, a home device 705, and aservice server 707. Here, it is assumed that the first user device 701and the second user device 703 have completed the pre-process performedto share the home device information described in FIG. 4. The seconduser device 703 can store and manage a home device list.

The first user device 701 transmits a home device information sharingrequest message, which makes a request for sharing information on thehome device, to the service server 707 in operation 712. The home deviceinformation sharing request message includes a UUID corresponding tohome device information among information on a right to use at least onehome device, a device token corresponding to access right information ofthe use right information, and an account ID of the second user device703.

The service server 707 transmits a notification message indicating thatthe first device 701 makes a request for sharing home device informationto the second user device 703 in operation 714, and the second userdevice 703 transmits a home device information sharing acceptancemessage, which accepts the home device information sharing request, tothe service server 707 in operation 716.

The service server 707 transmits a home device information sharingacceptance response message in response to the home device informationsharing acceptance message, which has been received in operation 716, inoperation 718. The home device information sharing acceptance responsemessage includes information on a right to use at least one home device,that is, a UUID, peerID, peerGroupID, device token, and IP address.Further, the service server 707 copies the home device information suchthat the home device information on the second user device 703 becomesthe same as the registered home device information on the first userdevice 701 in operation 720.

Thereafter, the service server transmits a home device informationsharing completion message, which indicates that the sharing of the homedevice information with the second user device 703 is completed, to thefirst user device 701 in response to the home device information sharingrequest message, which has been received in operation 712, in operation722.

Some of operations 712 to 722 described in FIG. 7 may be omitted,modified and/or combined according to a utilization example.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of sharing home device information betweenuser devices in a home network system according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 8, an illustrated home network system includes a homedevice 801A, a home device 801B, a first user device 803, a second userdevice 805, a service server 807, and a connectivity server 809. It isassumed that the first user device 803 has been already connected to thehome device 801A through a pre-process in operation 812, and home deviceinformation 814 on the home device 801A has been registered in theservice server 807 through the registration process of operations 112 to122 of FIG. 1.

The first user device 803 discovers user devices located in an area ofthe home network system, for example, in the house, collects informationon the discovered user devices, and displays the information on ascreen. Among the user devices, a user device is selected according touser input to share home device information 814 registered in the firstuser device 803. Here, it is assumed that the user device selected bythe user input is the illustrated second user device 805.

The first user device 803 transfers a device token corresponding toinformation on a right to access the home device 801A to the serviceserver 807 in operation 815, and the service server 807 registers thehome device 801A in the connectivity server 809 in operation 816. Theconnectivity server 809 adds a peerID of the home device 801A to a peergroup of the second user device 805, and the home device 801A isautomatically registered in the second user device 805 in operation 818.

Some of operations 812 to 818 described in FIG. 8 may be omitted,modified and/or combined according to a utilization example.

Hereinafter, a process of automatically registering the home device 801Ain the second user device 805 will be described in more detail withreference to FIG. 9.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a process of automatically registeringa home device in a user device in a home network system according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 9, an illustrated home network system includes a firstuser device 901, a second user device 903, a home device 905, a serviceserver 907, and a connectivity server 909. It is assumed that the firstuser device 901 and the second user device 903 have completed thepre-process performed to share the home device information described inFIG. 4. The first user device 901 can store and manage at least some useright information.

The first user device 901 transmits a home device information sharingacceptance request message, which makes a request for accepting homedevice information sharing, to the second user device 903 in operation912. The second user device 903 transmits a home device informationsharing approval message, which approves of the home device informationsharing, to the first user device 901 in response to the home deviceinformation sharing acceptance request message, which has been receivedin operation 912, in operation 914. The home device information sharingapproval message includes an account ID of the second user device 903.

The first user device 901 transmits a home device information sharingrequest message, which makes a request for sharing information on thehome device 905, to the service server 907 in operation 916. The homedevice information sharing request message includes a UUID correspondingto home device information among information on a right to use at leastone home device, a device token corresponding to access rightinformation of the use right information, and an account ID of thesecond user device 903.

The service server 907 copies the home device information such that thehome device information on the first user device 903 becomes the same asthe registered home device information on the first user device 901 inoperation 918. Thereafter, the first user device 901 transmits anacknowledge message to the second user device 903 in response to thehome device information sharing approval message, which has beenreceived in operation 914, in operation 920. The acknowledge messageincludes a device token corresponding to access right informationcontained in the information on the right to use at least one homedevice.

The service server 907 transmits a home device registration requestmessage, which makes a request for registering the home device 905, tothe connectivity server 909 in operation 922. The home deviceregistration request message includes a peerGroupID and peerIDcorresponding to home device information among the information on theright to use at least one home device, and a device token correspondingto access right information contained in the use right information. Theconnectivity server 909 adds the peerID of the home device 905 to a peergroup of the second user device 903 and registers the home device 905 inthe connectivity server 909 in operation 926. At this time, theconnectivity server 909 uses the device token received from the serviceserver 907 to register the home device 905.

Some of operations 912 to 926 described in FIG. 9 may be omitted,modified and/or combined according to a utilization example.

FIG. 10 is a device block diagram illustrating an internal configurationof a user device which shares home device information in a home networksystem according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 10, an illustrated user device 1000 includes atransmitter 1010, a receiver 1020, a controller 1030, and a storage unit1040.

The controller 1030 controls the general operation of the user device1000. Particularly, the controller 1030 controls the general operationrelated to home device information sharing according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure. Here, since the general operation related to thehome device information sharing is the same as that described withreference to FIGS. 5 to 7 and 9, an additional detailed descriptionthereof will be omitted.

The transmitter 1010 transmits various messages according to a controlof the controller 1030. Here, since the various messages transmitted bythe transmitter 1010 are the same as those described with reference toFIGS. 5 to 7 and 9, an additional detailed description thereof will beomitted.

The receiver 1020 receives various messages according to a control ofthe controller 1030. Here, since the various messages received by thereceiver 1020 are the same as those described with reference to FIGS. 5to 7 and 9, an additional detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Although FIG. 10 illustrates a case where the user device 1000 isimplemented by separate units such as the transmitter 1010, receiver1020, controller 1030, and storage unit 1040, the user device 1000 canbe implemented by one unit in which at least two of the transmitter1010, receiver 1020, controller 1030, and storage unit 1040 areintegrated.

FIG. 11 is a device block diagram illustrating an internal configurationof a service server which shares home device information in a homenetwork system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 11, an illustrated service server 1100 includes atransmitter 1110, a receiver 1120, a controller 1130, and a storage unit1140.

The controller 1130 controls the general operation of the service server1100. Particularly, the controller 1130 controls the general operationrelated to home device information sharing according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure. Here, since the general operation related to thehome device information sharing is the same as that described withreference to FIGS. 5 to 7 and 9, an additional detailed descriptionthereof will be omitted.

The transmitter 1110 transmits various messages according to a controlof the controller 1130. Here, since the various messages transmitted bythe transmitter 1110 are the same as those described with reference toFIGS. 5 to 7 and 9, an additional detailed description thereof will beomitted.

The receiver 1120 receives various messages according to a control ofthe controller 1030. Here, since the various messages received by thereceiver 1120 are the same as those described with reference to FIGS. 5to 7 and 9, an additional detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Although FIG. 11 illustrates a case where the user device 1100 isimplemented by separate units such as the transmitter 1110, receiver1120, controller 1130, and storage unit 1140, the user device 1100 canbe implemented by one unit in which at least two of the transmitter1110, receiver 1120, controller 1130, and storage unit 1140 areintegrated.

FIG. 12 is a device block diagram illustrating an internal configurationof a connectivity server which shares home device information in a homenetwork system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 12, an illustrated connectivity server 1200 includes atransmitter 1210, a receiver 1220, a controller 1230, and a storage unit1240.

The controller 1230 controls the general operation of the connectivityserver 1200. Particularly, the controller 1130 controls the generaloperation related to home device information sharing according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. Here, since the general operationrelated to the home device information sharing is the same as thatdescribed with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7 and 9, an additional detaileddescription thereof will be omitted.

The transmitter 1210 transmits various messages according to a controlof the controller 1230. Here, since the various messages transmitted bythe transmitter 1210 are the same as those described with reference toFIGS. 7 and 9, an additional detailed description thereof will beomitted.

The receiver 1220 receives various messages according to a control ofthe controller 1230. Here, since the various messages received by thereceiver 1220 are the same as those described with reference to FIGS. 5to 7 and 9, an additional detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Although FIG. 12 illustrates a case where the user device 1200 isimplemented by separate units such as the transmitter 1210, receiver1220, controller 1230, and storage unit 1240, the user device 1200 canbe implemented by one unit in which at least two of the transmitter1210, receiver 1220, controller 1230, and storage unit 1240 areintegrated.

It may be understood that an apparatus and method for transferring homedevice-related information by a user device according to the presentdisclosure can be implemented in the form of hardware, software, or acombination thereof. Any such software may be stored, for example, in avolatile or non-volatile storage device such as a read only memory(ROM), random access memory (RAM), memory chip, memory device, or memoryintegrated circuit (IC), or a recordable optical or magnetic medium suchas a compact disc (CD), DVD, magnetic disk, or magnetic tape, regardlessof its ability to be erased or its ability to be re-recorded. A webwidget manufacturing method of the present disclosure can be realized bya computer or a portable terminal including a controller and a memory,and it can be seen that the memory corresponds to an example of thestorage medium which is suitable for storing a program or programsincluding instructions by which the embodiments of the presentdisclosure are realized, and is machine readable.

Accordingly, the present disclosure includes a program for codeimplementing the apparatus and method described in the appended claimsof the specification and a machine (such as a computer or thelike)-readable storage medium for storing the program. Further, theprogram may be electronically transferred by a predetermined medium suchas a communication signal transferred through a wired or wirelessconnection, and the present disclosure appropriately includesequivalents of the program.

Further, an apparatus for transferring home device-related informationby a user device, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure,may receive a program from a program providing apparatus connectedthrough a wire or wirelessly and store the received program. The programsupply apparatus may include a program that includes instructions toexecute the various embodiments of the present disclosure, a memory thatstores information or the like required for the various embodiments ofthe present disclosure, a communication unit that conducts wired orwireless communication with the electronic apparatus, and a control unitthat transmits a corresponding program to a transmission/receptionapparatus in response to the request from the electronic apparatus orautomatically.

While the present disclosure has been shown and described with referenceto various embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilledin the art that various changes in form and detail may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure asdefined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of sharing information related to a homedevice in a home network system by a first device, the methodcomprising: establishing a session with at least one second device;obtaining, from at least one specified home device, a firstidentification information of the at least one specified home device, asecond identification information for identifying the at least onespecified home device, a third identification information foridentifying a group of the at least one specified home device, and afirst authentication information including information on a key forauthenticating access to the at least one specified home device; andtransmitting the first identification information, the secondidentification information, the third identification information, andthe first authentication information to the at least one second device.2. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting of the firstidentification information, the second identification information, thethird identification information, and the first authenticationinformation comprises: directly transmitting the first identificationinformation, the second identification information, the thirdidentification information, and the first authentication informationfrom the first device to the at least one second device.
 3. The methodof claim 1, wherein the transmitting of the first identificationinformation, the second identification information, the thirdidentification information, and the first authentication informationcomprises: transmitting the first identification information, the secondidentification information, and the third identification informationfrom the first device to the at least one second device through aservice server by using a request ID indicating a trust key value usedfor a mutual authentication between the first device and the at leastone second device; and directly transmitting the first authenticationinformation from the first device to the at least one second device. 4.The method of claim 3, wherein the group of the at least one specifiedhome device is registered in the service server.
 5. The method of claim1, wherein the transmitting of the first identification information, thesecond identification information, the third identification information,and the first authentication information comprises: transmitting thefirst identification information, the second identification information,the third identification information, and the first authenticationinformation from the first device to the at least one second devicethrough a service server by using the first identification informationand the first authentication information.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein the first identification information includes a unique useridentifier (UUID), wherein the second identification informationincludes a peer ID, wherein the third identification informationincludes a peer group ID, and wherein the first authenticationinformation includes a device token.
 7. A first device for sharinginformation related to a home device in a home network system, the firstdevice comprising: at least one processor, wherein the at least oneprocessor is configured to: establish a session with at least one seconddevice, obtain, from at least one specified home device, a firstidentification information of the at least one specified home device, asecond identification information for identifying the at least onespecified home device, a third identification information foridentifying a group of the at least one specified home device, and afirst authentication information including information on a key forauthenticating access to the at least one specified home device, andtransmit the first identification information, the second identificationinformation, the third identification information, and the firstauthentication information to the at least one second device.
 8. Thefirst device of claim 7, wherein the at least one processor is furtherconfigured to: directly transmit the first identification information,the second identification information, the third identificationinformation, and the first authentication information from the firstdevice to the at least one second device.
 9. The first device of claim7, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: transmitthe first identification information, the second identificationinformation, and the third identification information from the firstdevice to the at least one second device through a service server byusing a request ID indicating a trust key value used for a mutualauthentication between the first device and the at least one seconddevice, and directly transmit the first authentication information fromthe first device to the at least one second device.
 10. The first deviceof claim 9, wherein the group of home devices is registered in theservice server.
 11. The first device of claim 7, wherein the at leastone processor is further configured to: transmit the firstidentification information, the second identification information, thethird identification information, and the first authenticationinformation from the first device to the at least one second devicethrough a service server by using the first identification informationand the first authentication information.
 12. The first device of claim7, wherein the first identification information includes a unique useridentifier (UUID), wherein the second identification informationincludes a peer ID, wherein the third identification informationincludes a peer group ID, and wherein the first authenticationinformation includes a device token.
 13. A service server for sharinginformation related to a home device in a home network system, theservice server comprising: a receiver; a transmitter; and at least oneprocessor, wherein at least one processor is configured to: receive,from a first device, at least a piece of a first identificationinformation of a specified home device, a second identificationinformation for identifying the specified home device, a thirdidentification information for identifying a group of home devices or afirst authentication information including information on a key forauthenticating access to the specified home device, and store at least apiece of the first identification information, the second identificationinformation, the third identification information or the firstauthentication information as a home device registration information forat least one second device, wherein the first device and the at leastone second device are in a state where a session is established.
 14. Theservice server of claim 13, wherein the at least one processor isfurther configured to: receive the first identification information, thesecond identification information, the third identification information,and a first request ID indicating a trust key value used for a mutualauthentication between the first device and at least one second device,and receive a second request ID from the at least one second device. 15.The service server of claim 14, wherein the at least one processor isfurther configured to: compare the first request ID received from thefirst device and the second request ID received from the at least onesecond device.
 16. The service server of claim 15, wherein the at leastone processor is further configured to: transmit the firstidentification information, the second identification information, andthe third identification information from the first device to the atleast one second device when the first request ID received from thefirst device corresponds to the second request ID received from the atleast one second device.
 17. The service server of claim 13, wherein thefirst identification information includes a unique user identifier(UUID), wherein the second identification information includes a peerID, wherein the third identification information includes a peer groupID, and wherein the first authentication information includes a devicetoken.